Attachment_3_Scope_of_Work_Appendix_A.pdf

Reuble Collection of Glass Plate Negatives, Ebey’s Landing

Description: The Reuble collection, also called the Ebey’s Landing Negatives, was gifted to the NPS by the owner. Their location is: Reuble Collection EBLA-0019 Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve Museum Collection stored at Marblemount Curation Facility, CSR 2, Cab D, Dr 15. They were originally stored on Whidbey Island, WA in various locations -- most recently in a lighthouse near Ebey’s Landing.

The majority of images are portraits of military officers and families stationed at Fort Casey. An exact date of production is also unknown, but dress alludes to a date circa World War I, 1910. A few plates have writing. Most of the plates aren’t marked with any written information. It is an assumption that the negatives were taken by a photographer named Grove. Inscriptions on the plates say “By Grove” and an example inscription was documented in the below imagery of this report.

Online research and photographer lists of the time don’t mention a photographer named Grove working on Whidbey Island. Nothing is known about his connection to the military base. Nothing is known about the photographer.

The glass plates are mostly 5” x 7” in size. Four are of a different size: 3.25” x 5.5” and 4.25” x 5.25”. They are all gelatin dry plate technology. The current numbering system has both “a” and “b” lettering, but this doesn’t appear to correspond to duplicates. The numbering was done before the current curator was hired so there isn’t a good understanding of what it corresponds to.

Synopsis: The Reuble Collection was flagged for item-by-item treatment in previous reports. It is in poor condition and currently too fragile to handle. Most of the image material is cleaving from the glass supports. The negatives were subjected to not only water damage but also excessive changes in humidity and temperature while stored on Whidbey Island. There was no sign that that glass disease was a factor in its current condition. The collection has been flagged for assessment in previous reports Teresa Voellinger writes in the 2010 assessment:

Solicitation (Request for Quotes) No. 140P823Q0005 Attachment 3, Statement of Work APPENDIX A

Conservation Treatment to Museum Plate Glass Negatives, EBLA

Voellinger recommended the rehousing of the plates and it was subsequently done by the Museum Curator’s predecessor. All plates were removed from the plastic sleeves and rehoused in 4-flap enclosures. The folders were labeled with an individual identifying number and housed inside 6 archival boxes. Many of the plates were scanned during rehousing and hardcopy facsimile/ “Xerox or inkjet” exist in a binder. Any generated digital scans aren’t currently accessible or extant.

During the assessment, every plate was removed from the 4-flap for assessment. All negatives showing signs of cleavage and significant damage were noted in the Excel document located in Appendix A. Also noted in most cases with whether the damage was minor or major. Minor implied an image flap of a quarter -coin size.

Major denotes cleavage with flaps that take over the majority of the glass plate. Also noted in the Excel document is an estimated cost of treatment for the collection.

Conclusion: The Collection is in poor condition. The assessment identified 146 plates in need of consolidation for flaking emulsion. The total collection is 337 negatives - so just under half are in need of consolidation. Approximately 50% of the flagged negatives have major flaking issues that will involve the entirety of the image to be glued back into place. (Don’t be surprised if the contractor for treatment on this project proposes removal of the emulsion onto a new support.

The condition of these is so severe in some cases that another option might be proposed.) Fifteen plates are broken and need housing to support the damage.

Some of the plates are suffering from silver mirroring and a color shift to yellow. It’s assumed that there was significant water damage to some. There are signs of slight mold damage, image loss and oxidation spots – all associated with the long-term exposure to water.

Storage: The glass plates might be better stored for long-term in a drier and colder place than current conditions. Consider modifying the climate in one of the collection rooms to accommodate these materials. It’s recommended that any changes to the localized climate of this collection happen after the conservation treatment. For the time being, until money is secured to treat the collection, consider bagging each box of negatives in a polyethylene bag to further reduce fluctuations in humidity and temperature. The bagging should be done on a day when the humidity isn’t high. Don’t trap unnecessary moisture while bagging. One supplier for purchasing large polyethylene bags is Uline—located in a list in Appendix C.

Treatment options: This is an extensive project that will take many conservator hours to stabilize. The emulsion will need to be re-adhered to the glass and in some cases may be removed to a new support. Certain materials will have to be cleaned to remove/ reduce mold damage and certain plates need additional attention if the glass is broken. The budget for this project should include not only the conservator’s time in treatment of the image, but also digitization of each plate.

Treatment should ideally be carried out at a facility that also has the capability to do both treatment and digitize.

Photo-Documentation:

One of the negatives with color shift to yellow. The inscription at the bottom states “By Grove”.

Current housing of the collection in boxes and each negative is individually housed in a four-flap paper enclosure.

Several boxes awaiting assessment.

One is open to show current housing.

Example of the flaking issues associated with this collection. Also note, the yellow color shift—associated with water damage of some.

Water damage on some and the associated loss from long-term water exposure.

Extensive cleavage from the glass support.

More cleavage Some cleavage is associated with extensive loss of the image. The emulsion is no longer extant.

Mold damage and water damage on some.

Almost total cleavage of the image from the glass support is common.

Oxidation spots and color shift from prolonged exposure to water

Inscriptions are on some of the negatives.

Most don’t have inscriptions.

Some have somewhat minimal cleavage while some suffer extensively.

Detail of the oxidation spots on some.